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3. At an Assembly general election, both constituency and electoral region votes shall be given in an Assembly constituency(20).
4. An alteration in a published version of a register of electors under section 13A or 56 of the 1983 Act (alteration of registers and registration appeals) shall not have effect for the purposes of an Assembly election if it is to take effect after the fifth day before the date of the poll.
5.—(1) Subject to giving notice of the appeal in accordance with paragraph 9(1) of Schedule 1, an appeal from any decision under this Order of the registration officer disallowing a person’s application to vote—
(a) by proxy or by post as elector; or
(b) by post as proxy,
lies to the county court in any case where the application is not made for a particular Assembly election only.
(2) No appeal lies from the decision of the Court of Appeal on appeal from a decision of the county court under this article.
(3) An appeal to the county court or Court of Appeal by virtue of this article or section 56 of the 1983 Act which is pending when notice of an Assembly election is given shall not prejudice the operation as respects the Assembly election of the decision appealed against, and anything done in pursuance of the decision shall be as good as if no such appeal had been brought and shall not be affected by the decision of the appeal.
(4) Notice shall be sent to the registration officer in the manner provided by rules of court of the decision of the county court or of the Court of Appeal on any appeal by virtue of this article, and the registration officer shall make such alterations in the—
(a) record kept under article 8(3); or
(b) record kept under article 12(6),
as may be required to give effect to the decision.
(5) Where, as a result of the decision on an appeal by virtue of this article or section 56 of the 1983 Act, an alteration in the register or record takes effect on or before the date of the poll, paragraph (3) shall not apply to that appeal as respects that Assembly election.
(6) The registration officer shall on an appeal brought under this article be deemed to be a party to the proceedings, and the registration expenses payable to a registration officer shall include any expenses properly incurred by him by virtue of this paragraph.
(7) CCR Order 45, rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998(21) (appeal from decision of registration officer) shall have effect in relation to appeals under this article subject to the following modifications—
(a) in rule 2(1), “regulations made under section 53 of the said Act of 1983”; and
(b) in rule 2(4)(a), “to the regulations mentioned in paragraph (1)”,
shall be construed as including a reference to paragraph 9 of Schedule 1.
6.—(1) For the purpose of Assembly elections every Assembly constituency shall be divided into polling districts and there shall be a polling place for each polling district unless the size or other circumstances of a polling district are such that the situation of the polling stations does not materially affect the convenience of the electors or any body of them.
(2) The polling districts and polling places for the purpose of Assembly elections shall be the districts and places designated for parliamentary elections.
(3) An election shall not be questioned by reason of—
(a) any non-compliance with the provisions of this article; or
(b) any irregularity relating to polling districts or polling places.
7.—(1) This article applies to determine the manner of voting of a person entitled to vote as an elector at an Assembly election.
(2) He may vote in person at the polling station allotted to him under this Order, unless he is entitled as an elector to an absent vote at the Assembly election.
(3) He may vote by post if he is entitled as an elector to vote by post at the Assembly election.
(4) If he is entitled to vote by proxy at the Assembly election, he may so vote unless, before a ballot paper has been issued for him to vote by proxy, he applies at the polling station allotted to him under this Order for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person, in which case he may vote in person there.
(5) If he is not entitled as an elector to an absent vote at an Assembly election but cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to the polling station allotted to him under this Order by reason of the particular circumstances of his employment—
(a) as a constable;
(b) by a constituency returning officer, in the case of a constituency election;
(c) by a regional returning officer, in the case of a regional election; or
(d) by a constituency returning officer, in the case of a regional election where that officer is exercising functions in relation to the election,
on the date of the poll for a purpose connected with the election (subject to paragraph (7)), he may vote in person at any polling station in an Assembly constituency as set out in paragraph (6).
(6) A person to whom paragraph (5) applies may vote in person at a polling station in the Assembly constituency —
(a) for which the election is being held, in the case of a constituency election; or
(b) in which he is entitled to give his vote, in the case of a regional election.
(7) Where the polls at a constituency election and a regional election are to be taken together and a person is employed at those elections for a purpose connected with only one of those two elections at which he is entitled to give a vote, he shall be treated for the purposes of paragraph (5) as employed for a purpose connected with both elections; provided that, if a person is so treated, in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (5) those votes shall be given at the same polling station.
(8) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this article applies to a person to whom section 7 of the 1983 Act (mental patients who are not detained offenders) applies and who is liable, by virtue of any enactment, to be detained in the mental hospital in question, whether he is registered by virtue of that provision or not; and such a person may vote—
(a) in person (where he is granted permission to be absent from the hospital and voting in person does not breach any condition attached to that permission); or
(b) by post or by proxy (where he is entitled as an elector to vote by post or, as the case may be, by proxy at the election).
(9) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this article applies to a person to whom section 7A of the 1983 Act (persons remanded in custody) applies whether he is registered by virtue of that provision or not; and such a person may only vote by post or by proxy (where he is entitled as an elector to vote by post or, as the case may be, by proxy at the election).
(10) For the purposes of this Order a person entitled to vote as an elector at an Assembly election is entitled to vote by post or entitled to vote by proxy at the election if paragraph (11) or (12) (as the case may be) applies to him in relation to the election.
(11) This paragraph applies to a person who is shown in the postal voters list mentioned in article 10(2) as entitled to vote by post at an election.
(12) This paragraph applies to a person who is shown in the list of proxies mentioned in article 10(3) as entitled to vote by proxy at an election.
(13) Paragraph (2) does not prevent a person, at the polling station allotted to him, marking a tendered ballot paper in pursuance of rule 49(4) or (6) of Schedule 5.
8.—(1) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post, or to vote by proxy, at Assembly elections (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application), the registration officer shall grant the application if—
(a) in the case of an application to vote by proxy, he is satisfied that the applicant is eligible to vote by proxy at Assembly elections;
(b) he is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register; and
(c) the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
(2) For the purposes of this article, a person is eligible to vote by proxy at Assembly elections if—
(a) he is or will be registered as a service voter;
(b) he has an anonymous entry in the register of electors for the election;
(c) he cannot reasonably be expected—
(i) to go in person to the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under this Order; or
(ii) to vote unaided there,
by reason of blindness or other disability;
(d) he cannot reasonably be expected to go in person to that polling station by reason of the general nature of his occupation, service or employment or that of his spouse or civil partner, or by reason of his attendance on a course provided by an educational institution or that of his spouse or civil partner; or
(e) he cannot go in person from his qualifying address to that polling station without making a journey by air or sea.
(3) The registration officer shall keep a record of those whose applications under this article have been granted showing whether their applications were to vote by post or proxy for an indefinite or a particular period and specifying that period.
(4) The record kept under paragraph (3) shall also show—
(a) in the case of those who may vote by post, the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent; and
(b) in the case of those who may vote by proxy, the names and addresses of those appointed as their proxies.
(5) The registration officer shall remove a person from the record kept under paragraph (3)—
(a) if he applies to the registration officer to be removed;
(b) in the case of a person who is eligible to vote by proxy by virtue of having an anonymous entry, if he ceases to have an anonymous entry;
(c) in the case of any registered person, if he ceases to be registered or registered at the same qualifying address or ceases to be, or becomes, registered in pursuance of—
(i) a service declaration; or
(ii) a declaration of local connection;
(d) in the case of any person shown in the record as voting by proxy, if the registration officer gives notice that he has reason to believe there has been a material change of circumstances; or
(e) in the case of a person who applied to vote by post or proxy for a particular period, once that period has expired.
(6) A person shown in the record kept under paragraph (3) as voting by post may subsequently alter his choice by applying to the registration officer to vote by proxy instead (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application); and if the registration officer would be required to grant that application if it were an application to vote by proxy under paragraph (1), the registration officer shall amend the record accordingly.
(7) A person shown in the record kept under paragraph (3) as voting by proxy may subsequently alter his choice by applying to the registration officer to vote by post instead (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application); and if the application meets the requirements of Schedule 1, the registration officer shall amend the record accordingly.
(8) The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under paragraph (1)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if he is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
(a) to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has; or
(b) to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write; or
(c) to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
(9) The registration officer shall also keep a record in relation to those whose applications under this article have been granted showing—
(a) their dates of birth; and
(b) except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of paragraph (8) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature, their signatures.
(10) The record kept under paragraph (9) must be retained by the registration officer for the period prescribed in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1.
9.—(1) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post, or to vote by proxy, at a particular Assembly election, the registration officer shall grant the application if—
(a) he is satisfied in the case of an application to vote by proxy, that the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll will be or are likely to be such that he cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under this Order;
(b) he is satisfied that the applicant is or will be registered in the register; and
(c) the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
(2) Where a person who has an anonymous entry in the register applies to the registration officer to vote by proxy at a particular Assembly election, the registration officer shall grant the application if it meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a person who is included in the record kept under article 8 but such a person may, in respect of a particular Assembly election, apply to the registration officer—
(a) for his ballot paper to be sent to a different address from that shown in the record; or
(b) to vote by proxy,
if he is shown in the record as voting by post at Assembly elections.
(4) The registration officer shall grant an application under paragraph (3) if—
(a) in the case of any application, it meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1; and
(b) in the case of an application to vote by proxy, he is satisfied that the applicant’s circumstances on the date of the poll will be or are likely to be such that he cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person at the polling station allotted or likely to be allotted to him under this Order.
(5) The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under paragraph (1)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if he is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
(a) to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has; or
(b) to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write; or
(c) to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
(6) The registration officer shall also keep a record in relation to those whose applications under this article have been granted showing—
(a) their dates of birth; and
(b) except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of paragraph (5) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature, their signatures.
(7) The record kept under paragraph (6) must be retained by the registration officer for the period prescribed in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1.
(8) For the purposes of this article, articles 11 and 12 and Schedule 1, “particular election”, shall, where a person (whether as elector or as proxy) is entitled to give two votes, refer to both elections at which he is entitled to so vote; and references to an absent vote at a particular Assembly election shall be construed accordingly.
10.—(1) The registration officer shall, in respect of each Assembly election, keep the two special lists mentioned in paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) The first of those lists (“the postal voters list”) is a list of—
(a) those who are for the time being shown in the record kept under article 8 as voting by post at Assembly elections (excluding those so shown whose applications under article 9(3)(b) to vote by proxy at the election, have been granted) together with the addresses provided by them in their application under article 8 or 9(3)(a) as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent; and
(b) those whose applications under article 9(1) to vote by post at the election have been granted, together with the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent.
(3) The second list is a list (“the list of proxies”) of those who are for the time being shown in the record kept under article 8 as voting by proxy at Assembly elections or whose applications under article 9 to vote by proxy at the election have been granted, together with the names and addresses of those appointed as their proxies.
(4) In the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in the register the postal voters list or list of proxies (as the case may be) must show in relation to that person only—
(a) his electoral number; and
(b) the period for which the anonymous entry has effect.
(5) Where electors are entitled to give two votes, only one list shall be kept under each of paragraphs (2) and (3) and those lists shall have effect in relation to both elections.
11.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this article, any person is capable of being appointed proxy to vote for another (in this article and article 12 referred to as “the elector”) at any Assembly election and may vote in pursuance of the appointment.
(2) The elector cannot have more than one person at a time appointed as proxy to vote for him at an Assembly election (whether in the same Assembly constituency or elsewhere).
(3) A person is not capable of being appointed to vote, or voting, as proxy at an Assembly election—
(a) if he is subject to any legal incapacity (age apart) to vote at that election as an elector; or
(b) if he is neither a qualifying Commonwealth citizen nor a citizen of the Republic of Ireland nor a relevant citizen of the Union.
(4) A person is not capable of voting as proxy at an Assembly election unless on the date of the poll he has attained the age of eighteen.
(5) A person is not entitled to vote as proxy—
(a) in the case of an Assembly general election in the same Assembly constituency, or constituencies in the same electoral region;
(b) in the case of a constituency election other than at an Assembly general election, in the same constituency election;
(c) in a regional election,
on behalf of more than two persons of whom he is not the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild.
(6) Where the elector applies to the registration officer for the appointment of a proxy to vote for him at Assembly elections (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application), the registration officer shall make the appointment if the application meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1 and he is satisfied that the elector is or will be—
(a) registered in the register; and
(b) shown in the record kept under article 8 as voting by proxy at such elections,
and that the proxy is capable of being and willing to be appointed to vote as proxy at such elections.
(7) Where the elector applies to the registration officer for the appointment of a proxy to vote for him at a particular Assembly election, the registration officer shall make the appointment if the application contains the signature and date of birth of the applicant and meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1 and he is satisfied that the elector is or will be—
(a) registered in the register for that election; and
(b) entitled to vote by proxy at that election by virtue of an application under article 9,
and that the proxy is capable of being, and willing to be, appointed.
(8) The appointment of a proxy under this article is to be made by means of a proxy paper issued by the registration officer.
(9) The appointment may be cancelled by the elector by giving notice to the registration officer and shall also cease to be in force on the issue of a proxy paper appointing a different person to vote for him at an Assembly election or Assembly elections (whether in the same Assembly constituency or elsewhere), and where the appointment was for a particular period, the appointment shall cease to be in force once that period expires.
(10) Subject to paragraph (9), the appointment shall remain in force—
(a) in the case of an appointment for a particular election, for that election; and
(b) in any other case, while the elector is shown as voting by proxy in the record kept under article 8 in pursuance of the same application under that article.
12.—(1) A person entitled to vote as proxy at an Assembly election may do so in person at the polling station allotted to the elector under this Order unless he is entitled to vote by post as proxy for the elector at the election, in which case he may vote by post.
(2) Where a person is entitled to vote by post as proxy for the elector at any Assembly election, the elector may not apply for a ballot paper for the purpose of voting in person at the election.
(3) For the purposes of this Order, a person entitled to vote as proxy for another at an Assembly election is entitled so to vote by post if he is included in the list kept under paragraph (8) in respect of the election.
(4) Where a person applies to the registration officer to vote by post—
(a) as proxy at Assembly elections (whether for an indefinite period or for a particular period specified in his application); or
(b) as proxy at a particular Assembly election,
the registration officer shall grant the application if the conditions set out in paragraph (5) are satisfied.
(5) Those conditions are—
(a) that the registration officer is satisfied that the elector is or will be registered in the register; and
(b) that there is in force an appointment of the applicant as the elector’s proxy to vote for him at Assembly elections or, as the case may be, the Assembly election concerned; and
(c) that the application contains the applicant’s signature and date of birth and meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
(6) The registration officer shall keep a record of those whose applications under paragraph (4)(a) have been granted showing—
(a) whether their applications were to vote by post as proxy for an indefinite or a particular period (specifying that period); and
(b) the addresses provided by them in their applications as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent.
(7) Where, in the case of a particular election, a person included in the record kept under paragraph (6) applies to the registration officer for his ballot paper to be sent to a different address from that shown in the record, the registration officer shall grant the application if it meets the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
(8) The registration officer shall, in respect of each Assembly election, keep a special list (“the proxy postal voters list”) of—
(a) those who are for the time being included in the record kept under paragraph (6), together with the addresses provided by them in their applications under paragraph (4)(a) or paragraph (7) as the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent; and
(b) those whose applications under paragraph (4)(b) have been granted in respect of the election concerned, together with the addresses to which their ballot papers are to be sent,
provided that where the polls at a constituency election and at a regional election are to be taken together, only one list shall be kept under this paragraph and that list shall have effect in relation to both elections.
(9) In the case of a person who has an anonymous entry in the register the special list mentioned in paragraph (8) must contain only the person’s electoral number and the period for which the anonymous entry has effect.
(10) The registration officer shall remove a person from the record kept under paragraph (6)—
(a) if he applies to the registration officer to be removed;
(b) in the case of a person who applied to vote by post as proxy for a particular period, once that period expires;
(c) if the elector ceases to be registered as mentioned in paragraph (5)(a); or
(d) if the appointment of the person concerned as the elector’s proxy ceases to be in force (whether or not he is re-appointed).
(11) Paragraph (2) does not prevent a person, at the polling station allotted to him, marking a tendered ballot paper in pursuance of rule 49 (4) or (6) of Schedule 5.
(12) The registration officer may dispense with the requirement under paragraph (5)(c) for the applicant to provide a signature if he is satisfied that the applicant is unable—
(a) to provide a signature because of any disability the applicant has; or
(b) to provide a signature because the applicant is unable to read or write; or
(c) to sign in a consistent and distinctive way because of any such disability or inability.
(13) The registration officer shall also keep a record in relation to those whose applications under paragraph (4)(a) or (b) have been granted showing—
(a) their dates of birth; and
(b) except in cases where the registration officer in pursuance of paragraph (12) has dispensed with the requirement to provide a signature, their signatures.
(14) The record kept under paragraph (13) must be retained by the registration officer for the period prescribed in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1.
13.—(1) An application for an absent vote or postal proxy made in accordance with article 8, 9, 11 or 12 must comply with paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 (relating to personal identifiers).
(2) A registration officer shall comply with the transitional provisions of Schedule 2 in relation to a person who, on 1st February 2007 has an entry as an absent voter or postal proxy in his absent voting record.
(3) A person who remains on the record kept under article 8(3) or 12(6) may, at any time, provide the registration officer with a fresh signature.
(4) Anything required or authorised to be done for the purposes of any enactment in relation to a signature required to be provided in pursuance of the absent vote provisions of this Order must be done in relation to a signature provided as mentioned in paragraph (3) instead of in relation to a signature provided on any earlier occasion.
(5) The registration officer shall either—
(a) provide the constituency returning officer for an Assembly election with a copy of the information contained in records kept by the registration officer in pursuance of articles 8(9), 9(6) and 12(13) in relation to electors at the election; or
(b) give that returning officer access to such information.
(6) Information contained in records kept by a registration officer in pursuance of article 8(9), 9(6) or 12(13) may be disclosed by him (subject to the conditions prescribed in paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 1) to—
(a) any other registration officer if he thinks that to do so will assist the other registration officer in the performance of his duties;
(b) any person exercising functions in relation to the preparation or conduct of legal proceedings under the Representation of the People Acts or this Order;
(c) such other persons for such other purposes relating to elections as are prescribed in paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 1.
14.—(1) A person who provides false information in connection with an application to which article 8, 9, 11 or 12 applies is guilty of an offence.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), “false information” means a signature which—
(a) is not the usual signature of; or
(b) was written by a person other than,
the person whose signature it purports to be.
(3) A person does not commit an offence under paragraph (1) if he did not know and had no reason to suspect that the information was false.
(4) Where sufficient evidence is adduced to raise an issue with respect to the defence under paragraph (3), the court shall assume that the defence is satisfied unless the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that it is not.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to—
(a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks; or
(b) a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale,
or both.
(6) In relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003(22), the reference in paragraph (5)(a) to 51 weeks must be taken to be a reference to 6 months.
(7) A person also commits an offence if he—
(a) engages in an act specified in paragraph (8) at an Assembly election; and
(b) intends, by doing so, to deprive another of an opportunity to vote or to make for himself or another a gain of a vote to which he or the other is not otherwise entitled or a gain of money or property.
(8) These are the acts—
(a) applying for a postal or proxy vote as some other person (whether that other person is living or dead or is a fictitious person);
(b) otherwise making a false statement in, or in connection with, an application for a postal or proxy vote;
(c) inducing the registration officer or constituency returning officer to send a postal ballot paper or any communication relating to a postal or proxy vote to an address which has not been agreed to by the person entitled to the vote; and
(d) causing a communication relating to a postal or proxy vote or containing a postal ballot paper not to be delivered to the intended recipient.
(9) In paragraph (7)(b), property includes any description of property.
(10) In paragraph (8) a reference to a postal vote or a postal ballot paper includes a reference to a proxy postal vote or a proxy postal ballot paper (as the case may be).
(11) A person who commits an offence under paragraph (7) or who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of such an offence is guilty of a corrupt practice and shall be liable on conviction in accordance with article 120.
15.—(1) For the purposes of section 59(23) of the 1983 Act (supplemental provisions as to members of forces and service voters)—
(a) subsections (3)(b) and (c) shall be construed as including a reference to this Order in connection with the rights conferred by this Order on a person having a service qualification by virtue of section 14(1)(a) or (b) of that Act in relation to the making and cancellation of appointments of a proxy and in relation to voting in person, by post or by proxy; and
(b) subsection (3A) shall be similarly construed.
(2) Schedule 1 (which makes further provision in connection with absent voting at Assembly elections) has effect.
(3) Schedule 2 (which makes transitional provision in connection with absent voting at Assembly elections) has effect.
(4) Schedule 3 (which makes further provision in connection with the issue and receipt of postal ballot papers) has effect.
16.—(1) Where the polls at an Assembly general election and an ordinary local government election are to be taken on the same date, they shall be taken together.
(2) Where the polls at an Assembly election and local government election for related areas are to be taken on the same date but are not required by paragraph (1) to be taken together, they may nevertheless be so taken if the returning officer for each election thinks fit.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), two areas are related if one is coterminous with or situated wholly or partly within the other.
(4) Where the polls at an Assembly general election and an ordinary local government election are combined under paragraph (1) the cost of taking the combined polls (excluding any cost solely attributable to one election) and any cost attributable to their combination shall be apportioned among the elections in such proportions as the Assembly may by order specify; and an order under this paragraph may specify different proportions in relation to different functions.
(5) Where the polls at an Assembly election and another election are combined under paragraph (2) the cost of taking the combined polls (excluding any cost solely attributable to one election) and any cost attributable to their combination shall be apportioned equally among the elections.
(6) The power to make orders under paragraph (4) shall be exercised by statutory instrument and for the purposes of section 1 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946(24) this provision shall have effect as if contained in an Act of Parliament..
(7) Schedule 4 (which makes provision in connection with the combination of polls at Assembly and local government elections) has effect but, where the poll at an Assembly election is combined with a mayoral election, only Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 4 shall apply.
17.—(1) The proceedings at Assembly elections including the return of Assembly members shall be conducted in accordance with the Assembly election rules set out in Schedule 5.
(2) In addition to the functions otherwise conferred or imposed on a constituency or regional returning officer at an Assembly election it is the general duty of such an officer to do all such acts as may be necessary for effectively conducting the election in the manner provided by those rules.
(3) No Assembly election shall be declared invalid by reason of any act or omission by such a returning officer or any other person in breach of his official duty in connection with the election or otherwise of those rules if it appears to the tribunal having cognizance of the question that—
(a) the election was so conducted as to be substantially in accordance with the law as to Assembly elections; and
(b) the act or omission did not affect the result.
18.—(1) For the purpose of Assembly elections there shall be—
(a) a constituency returning officer for each Assembly constituency; and
(b) a regional returning officer for each Assembly electoral region, and
such persons shall hold office in accordance with the following provisions of this article.
(2) A constituency returning officer shall be the person—
(a) who is appointed under section 35(1A)(a) of the 1983 Act(25) to be the returning officer for elections of councillors of a county or county borough situated wholly or partly in the Assembly constituency; and
(b) in the case where there is more than one such person, who is for the time being designated by the Assembly as returning officer for the constituency.
(3) A regional returning officer shall be the person—
(a) who is appointed under section 35(1A)(a) of the 1983 Act to be the returning officer for elections of councillors of a county or county borough situated wholly or partly in the Assembly electoral region; and
(b) in the case where there is more than one such person, who is for the time being designated by the Assembly as returning officer for the electoral region.
(4) A designation made under this article shall be in writing.
(5) The office of returning officer is a distinct office from that by virtue of which the person becomes returning officer.
(6) Where a person takes any office by virtue of which he becomes a returning officer, he (and not the outgoing holder of the office) shall complete the conduct of any outstanding election in accordance with the Assembly election rules.
19.—(1) The council of each county or county borough shall place the services of its officers at the disposal of any constituency returning officer for an Assembly constituency wholly or partly situated in its area.
(2) The services placed at the disposal of a constituency returning officer under paragraph (1) may relate to the exercise of that officer’s functions in connection with a constituency election, a regional election or both such elections.
(3) The council of each county or county borough shall also place the services of its officers at the disposal of any regional returning officer for an Assembly electoral region partly situated in its area.
20.—(1) A constituency or a regional returning officer at an Assembly election may, in writing, appoint one or more persons to discharge all or any of his functions.
(2) Paragraph (1) applies to a constituency returning officer at a constituency or a regional election.
(3) Except in the case of an election to fill a casual vacancy, it shall be the duty of each regional returning officer and each constituency returning officer for an Assembly constituency in the Assembly electoral region to co-operate with each other in the discharge of their functions.
(4) The duty imposed by paragraph (3) applies as between constituency returning officers in an Assembly electoral region as well as between such officers and the regional returning officer for the electoral region.
(5) In this Order, a reference to a constituency returning officer in relation to the discharge of functions at a regional election is a reference to the discharge of such functions in relation to the Assembly constituency for which he is the returning officer.
21.—(1) A constituency or a regional returning officer at an Assembly election may take such steps as he thinks appropriate to remedy any act or omission on his part, or on the part of a relevant person, which—
(a) arises in connection with any function the returning officer or relevant person has in relation to the election; and
(b) is not in accordance with the rules or any other requirements applicable to the election.
(2) But a returning officer may not under paragraph (1) re-count the votes given at an election after the result has been declared.
(3) These are the relevant persons—
(a) an electoral registration officer;
(b) in relation to a regional election, a relevant returning officer at that election;
(c) a presiding officer;
(d) a person providing goods or services to the returning officer; and
(e) a deputy of any person mentioned in sub paragraphs (a) to (c) or a person appointed to assist, or in the course of his employment assisting, such a person in connection with any function he has in relation to the election.
(4) In paragraph (3)(b), “a relevant returning officer” means—
(a) in the case of a regional returning officer taking steps under paragraph (1), a constituency returning officer at that regional election; and
(b) in the case of a constituency returning officer taking steps under paragraph (1), the regional returning officer at that regional election.
(5) Where the act or omission to be remedied is that of a relevant returning officer, then, before taking steps under paragraph (1)—
(a) the regional returning officer must consult the constituency returning officer whose act or omission is to be remedied; and
(b) a constituency returning officer must consult the regional returning officer.
Section 6 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32). Back [20]
see Part 50 of and Schedule 2 to the Civil Procedure Rules (S.I. 1998/31320(L.17). There are amendments to those rules that are not relevant to this Order. Back [21]
Section 59 was amended by section 13(2) of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22). Back [23]
1946 c. 36. By virtue of section 1(1A) inserted into that Act of 1946 by paragraph 2 of Schedule 12 to the Government of Wales Act 1998, references in section 1(1) of that Act of 1946 to a Minister of the Crown are construed as including references to the National Assembly for Wales constituted by that Act of 1998 and by virtue of section 1(1A) of that Act of 1946 substituted by paragraph 2 of Schedule 10 to the Government of Wales Act 2006, references to a Minister of the Crown are construed as including references to the Welsh Ministers. see footnote to the definition of “the Assembly” in article 2(1) as to the vesting in the Welsh Ministers of the function of “the Assembly” under article 16(4). Back [24]
Subsection (1A) was added by Schedule 16 of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19). Back [25]
The National Assembly for Wales (Representation of the People) Order 2007